§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the(a) financial costs and (b) benefits to her Department of the parental leave directive. [42485]
§ Dr. HowellsTo date no staff in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have taken parental leave. We estimate future costs to be minimal as parental leave is currently unpaid. The Department already offers paid and unpaid maternity leave, paid paternity leave, career breaks, paid and unpaid special leave and a range of flexible working patterns, so we do not envisage the current parental leave arrangements to be of significant benefit to the Department.